An epidemic means a sudden and widespread occurrence of diseases at a certain place and time. This may involve, for example, a closed community of people, but it can quickly escalate into a global pandemic, as we recently saw in the Covid-19 pandemic. Paradoxically, even advanced medicine cannot 100% protect us from various diseases.
What can you imagine under the word- epidemic?
The term epidemic includes several factors, not only the diseases caused by viruses and bacteria but also:
• Unknown or newly created pathogens (for example, through animals that are generally not transmissible to humans but mutate under certain conditions)
• Toxins that are commonly found in nature (and come into contact with a larger group of people)
• Chemical leaks in a larger area (chemical accidents or long-term pollution)
• Exposure to radiation (threatens to people who work or live in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant, for example)
Why do epidemics increasingly threaten us?
The more factors there are, the more factors together, the greater the threat of an epidemic.
-
Weather fluctuations:
which we humans are responsible for. Global warming is also leading to easier virus transmission.
-
Pollution of the planet by chemicals and radioactive materials:
yes, this also leads not only to epidemics but also to chronic health problems. We also find chemicals in food and water.
-
Natural disasters such as tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.:
again, we do not have to go far for a devastated environment. In an environment where a natural disaster has occurred, all diseases (from contaminated water and the like) spread quickly.
-
Global travel:
the more mobile the population, the greater the risk of global pandemics. In densely populated areas, there is also an influenza virus-like a time bomb.